Abstract
Animal experimentation is necessary to characterize human diseases and design adequate therapeutic interventions. In renal transplantation research, the limited number of in vitro models involves a crucial role for in vivo models and particularly for the porcine model. Pig and human kidneys are anatomically similar (characterized by multilobular structure in contrast to rodent and dog kidneys unilobular). The human proximity of porcine physiology and immune systems provides a basic knowledge of graft recovery and inflammatory physiopathology through in vivo studies. In addition, pig large body size allows surgical procedures similar to humans, repeated collections of peripheral blood or renal biopsies making pigs ideal for medical training and for the assessment of preclinical technologies. However, its size is also its main drawback implying expensive housing. Nevertheless, pig models are relevant alternatives to primate models, offering promising perspectives with developments of transgenic modulation and marginal donor models facilitating data extrapolation to human conditions.
Highlights
Experimental models have accelerated our understanding of diseases’ pathophysiology and played a major role in the search for adequate therapeutic interventions
The major part of studies in the field of ischemiareperfusion has been performed in rodent models, but the pig is becoming the model of choice for preclinical studies [28]
The rodent model is cheaper and easier to manage in the laboratory, the studies are limited because of a difficult data extrapolation to human mainly due to kidney anatomical differences between these two species
Summary
Experimental models have accelerated our understanding of diseases’ pathophysiology and played a major role in the search for adequate therapeutic interventions. IRI is a choreographed process leading to delayed graft function (DGF) and reduced long-term organ survival in transplantation. Animal experimental models are crucial in renal IRI research, as there are only a limited number of in vitro models. Animal experimentation is contentious and subject to legal and ethical restrictions, large animal models are still extensively used and are necessary to develop safe preclinical protocols directly transferable to human. The Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology porcine model is crucial to adapt surgical procedures and to develop models mimicking for instance deceased after cardiac arrest donors or to test novel preservation solutions in transplantation. This paper provides an overview of porcine models commonly used to evaluate organ transplant protocols and analyzes new surgical models of marginal donors, establishing the pig as a gold standard in renal transplantation research
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